羊群 (yáng qún) — flock of sheep, herd of sheep | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'sheep + group': a flock or herd of sheep. The measure word 群 (qún) is used for clustered animals, not individuals.

noun

flock of sheepherd of sheep

Measure word · 群

Examples

∽。
Yuǎn yuǎn de kàn dào yí piàn bái bái de ∽ zài cǎo dì shàng chī cǎo.
From a distance, I saw a flock of white sheep grazing on the grassland.
∽。
Mù yáng rén dài zhe ∽ fān guò le yí zuò shān.
The shepherd led the flock over a mountain.
∽。
∽ Zài xī yáng xià xiǎn de gé wài ān jìng.
The flock of sheep looked especially peaceful under the setting sun.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

羊 means sheep and 群 means group, so the word names a group of sheep.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 羊 comes from a drawing of a ram's head.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

君羊群

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

君

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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